Is there a case of actively not advancing towards Artificial Intelligence?

In this cauldron is our potion. To our flesh we offer the gifts of the Great Mother who, with the help of our blue Father Sky, gave us all we need to thrive. So that our spirits may eternally swim through celestial pools of enchantment. Landing on intricate revelations and gathering in our strong arms the fallen branches of the tree of wisdom. Reassembling these woody limbs in fresh ways, designing our way into the next stage. Every time I sit by a fire an ember is thrown into my numb parts. That which I shy away from feeling, bubbles to the surface. The grief and sadness which can accompany the path of earthly awareness. Seeing the systemic disorder parading as normal. Artificiality worshiped as divinity. Oppression disguised in too many outfits.

Sweet mama Earth, your body is my own. Sweet brothers and sisters, your body is my own. When violence happens to you, my body feels it too. This is the web of particles which lace us together and an irreplaceable energy -empathy. The system would prefer that under these feelings I cripple, visit a doctor, have medication prescribed for a mood disorder. Numb the pain and block out the madness. Believe the demented who cast their spells of complacency, succumb to apathy and retreat. But my mantra is collaborative action and my spirit will not be satisfied ’til the Earth knows peace.

This is how the industrial growth society keeps perpetuating its disease, takes people away from the natural world and conditions them to depend on the artificial creations it produces. All at the cost of the planet we are gifted with to be stewards of, and our fellow people. It’s a broken mechanism which supplies weapons, poisons water sources, creates divisions and worships greed. This culture of consumption is making us suffer. The crude oil which runs Australia is creating war torn environments outside our border, in which people can no longer live. Fleeing and hoping to seek refuge in distant countries, often these people are locked away because the nations they turn to are too obsessed with their own economies, in which there is apparently no room for them. But it’s ok, there’s always room for another coal mine! And that’s great for business. Never mind about the sacred land or the smog your great grandchildren will know to be air. And this is civilized behavior?

Ladies and gentleman! Public service announcement – the more we regain our ability to live naturally, simply and self-sufficiently, the less we perpetuate harmful systems. I read an article circling the internet right now which said how conscious consumerism is merely something we do to feel better about our addiction to stuff, and that data showed no great significance in the footprint of an eco-consumer compared with a regular one. It suggested donating money to politicians instead so that legislation favouring nature over technocracy (life over extinction), could come to pass with greater ease. But our responsibility is bigger than that.

It’s time to reclaim our own destinies and the collective vision we have for the future of humanity. It’s not enough to place the responsibility in the hands of a small group of people and hope that the current environmental catastrophe will be set right by some new laws. Yes, these changes are crucial too and it’s important to keep applying pressure onto our local, state and national governments, but I think the most radically constructive thing to do right now is learn how to support and meet your needs in a way which does not cost the environment or other people. We can learn to live in and with nature.

I don’t suggest that everyone has to start learning how to build primitive shelters and return to a hunter-gather lifestyle, this would be a disaster and is not the answer. But I am suggesting that everyone has to start simplifying and embarking on the rejuvenating task of living increasingly naturally. Start by edging just a little bit out of your comfort zone. Learn how to plant seeds, compost, invest in natural fibers and produce your own flavored fashion or buy locally from people who make it themselves. Start eating seasonally and only local produce. Make practices and rituals which connect you to the living essence of nature, so you can start to feel the alive Earth as a friend, someone who loves and supports you and wants to have a reciprocal relationship with you. It’s a process and it may not happen over night but our creative force and the power of intentions do work miracles. Especially when they are aligned with the love beam that strives to envelop the planet in an enlightened paradigm.

When you are conditioned in a culture that glorifies the accumulation of things, of course you are going to be addicted to buying things. When in school you were taught that you had to give respect to figures of authority based on a system of hierarchy, of course it’s going to be harder to question the status quo. When ancient history in the classroom was prioritized over gardening it’s not surprising you have no idea how to grow food for yourself and depend on supermarkets to provide it for you. But at least you know who Caesar was! These things sadden me but it’s our will to look at these uncomfortable truths and come up with ways to become self-sustaining which is going to save us. Yes, there are myriad other sociopolitical issues that people are focused on right now but what is more potently able to unite us all despite our cultures, religious views, gender and sexual identities than the task ahead – how do we thrive on our planet and link arms, hearts and minds in order to overcome the very real extinction crisis? Leaving the paradigm of separateness behind.

Spiritual beliefs alone are not the answer and we need to back up what we preach about love, mama Earth, peace and unity with practical, grounded steps towards natural sustainability. From this determined space our actions, unified towards the common goal of restoring balance to the ecosystem and our social systems, are significantly more effective. Yes, it takes plenty of behavioral changes and means we have to acknowledge that our modern conveniences are selfish and destructive so that we can realise better alternatives. We’ve been tricked into thinking it’s too hard or even impossible, but to become self-sufficient is to become truly free. We are liberated from the systems of oppression and have done very important work by transforming human civilization into a network which promotes life and expansion.

In the last couple of years, along this path I am dedicated to walk, I’ve observed that the most powerful, connected, genuinely cool and interesting people are the ones who have a relationship to the natural world. Who sense the spirit in the soil, the wisdom in the seeds, the life force animating the Earth. The people who know what’s going on around them in the organic space their bodies inhabit. The natural, tangible environment in which their experience unfolds. Their presence is felt as strong, lively energy as they are connected to a natural, living and real source which is infinitely sustaining. Their engagement with existence and the things which support us (food, air, water, earth, shelter), is deeper. These people often know a lot about their ancestry and how the wise, ancient cultures of the Earth resided in harmonious relationship with the natural world. Giving respect to Gaia, honoring the cycles and observing the deep links between our psyches and the rest of the ecosphere. These modern people who can build their houses with their hands and the materials found locally. Who care more about this than any other superficial measure of success. These people who can support their families from food and resources they have cultivated themselves. Wow, slave labor didn’t stitch your clothing, you made it yourself! That’s sexy. People who can administer natural remedies and rely on plants for healing. These people who are aware that they are part of the biosphere, the ecosphere and the political and economic spheres of their societies, who are setting good examples which can institutionalize a new set of norms into their systems.

These are the people who I see as dismantling the corporatized global culture which is destroying the earth, in the most effective way. Who are self responsible and aspire towards sustainable goals. These are intelligent and humble people and this is the team I want to be a part of. Team Earth. Team liberated humanity. And everyone is encouraged to join, creating a diverse mosaic of human endeavor and consciousness. We are not separate from each other or the paradigm we gave rise to. As parts of this living system we can do the work and act as catalysts for its self healing. Like the Phoenix reborn from the ashes we rise, with wings outstretched and stronger than ever. Full moon blessings family!